Noise Unit is a Canadian industrial band, founded by Bill Leeb of Front Line Assembly as a side project.[3][4] The band has seen several changes in line-up, with Bill Leeb being the only permanent member.
Noise Unit | |
|---|---|
 Recording sessions for Noise Unit "Grinding Into Emptiness" | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Genres | Industrial,[1] EBM,[2] Electro-industrial |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Labels | Wax Trax!, Antler-Subway, Dossier, Cleopatra, Off Beat, Metropolis, Artoffact |
| Members | Bill Leeb Rhys Fulber |
| Past members | Marc Verhaeghen Chris Peterson Jeremy Inkel |
History
editNoise Unit's first album, Grinding into Emptiness, arose from the collaboration between Leeb and Marc Verhaeghen of Belgian industrial band Klinik.[5][1] It was released in 1989 through Wax Trax!, and Antler-Subway.[citation needed]
The 1990 album Response Frequency included Rhys Fulber. After the completion of the album, Verhaeghen left Noise Unit for several years.[6] Fulber remained with the band for the next three releases, including the contemporary techno album Decoder in 1995.[7]
Verhaeghen resumed his collaboration with Noise Unit for the 1996 album Drill, which also featured members of German industrial band Haujobb.[8]
After an eight-year hiatus, Leeb teamed with former Front Line Assembly member Chris Peterson in 2004 to release Voyeur in 2005.[3] Jason Filipchuk and Michael Balch also contributed to the album.[9] The album peaked at #4 on the German Alternative Charts (DAC) and ranked #26 on the DAC Top Albums of 2005.[10]
In 2016, Canadian label Artoffact reissued the albums Grinding Into Emptiness, Response Frequency and Drill on vinyl and CD.[2]
Deviator
editIn May 2020, it was announced that Rhys Fulber and Bill Leeb were working on a new Noise Unit album, the first in 15 years.[11] On November 24, 2020, album title Deviator and cover were revealed. The cover art was created by Dave McKean.[12] In May 2021, Artoffact scheduled the release date for September 17 the same year and made the second album track "Body Aktiv" available to the public via Bandcamp.[13] The album contained ten tracks and featured Raymond Watts on the track "Atrocity Obsession". In July 2021, Artoffact released a lyric video for this track on their YouTube channel.[14]
Cheeba City Blues
editIn July 2022, Artoffact announced the release of a new Noise Unit album titled Cheeba City Blues for October 21, 2022. The announcement coincided with the release of the single Alone Again, co-written by former member Jeremy Inkel before his death in January 2018.[15] One month later the band followed up with the release of the second single Dub it Up.[16]
Discography
editAlbums
edit- Grinding Into Emptiness (1989, Wax Trax!, Antler-Subway)
- Response Frequency (1990, Antler-Subway)
- Strategy of Violence (1992, Dossier, Cleopatra)
- Decoder (1995, Dossier, Cleopatra)
- Drill (1996, Off Beat, Metropolis)
- Voyeur (2005, Metropolis)
- Deviator (2021, Artoffact)
- Cheeba City Blues (2022, Artoffact)
Singles
edit- "Deceit" / "Struktur" (1989, Wax Trax!, Antler-Subway)
- "Agitate" / "In Vain" (1990, Antler-Subway)
References
edit- ^ a b Ankeny, Jason. Noise Unit at AllMusic. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
- ^ a b Van Isacker, Bernard (August 1, 2016). "3 new Noise Unit to be re-released as deluxe vinyl sets". Side-Line. Belgium. Archived from the original on August 6, 2016. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- ^ a b "Noise Unit". Metropolis. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
- ^ Michael Barclay; Ian A. D. Jack; Jason Schneider (2011). Have Not Been the Same: The CanRock Renaissance, 1985-1995. ECW Press. pp. 707–. ISBN 978-1-55490-968-1.
- ^ "Two classic EBM albums of Noise Unit back on vinyl". Peek-a-boo. Belgium. November 22, 2015. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
- ^ "Noise Unit". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
- ^ AllMusic. Noise Unit Decoder at AllMusic. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
- ^ Mercer, Matt (1997). "Noise Unit Drill". Ennui. 2 (2). Kent, Ohio: 38.
- ^ Carlsson, Johan (June 13, 2005). "Noise Unit: Voyeur". Release. Gothenburg: Release Musik & Media. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
- ^ "DAC Top 50 Albums 2005". Trendcharts oHG. AMC Alster Musik Consulting GmbH. 2006. Archived from the original on 23 April 2008. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
- ^ Van Isacker, Bernard (May 5, 2020). "Rhys Fulber and Bill Leeb working on a new Noise Unit album". Side-Line. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- ^ mindphaser, jon. "New Noise Unit". mindphaser.com. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
- ^ Yücel, Ilker (May 7, 2021). "Artoffact Records announces first new Noise Unit album in over 15 years". ReGen Magazine. Beltsville, Maryland. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
- ^ Yücel, Ilker (July 7, 2021). "Artoffact Records releases lyric video for latest single from Noise Unit, featuring Raymond Watts of PIG". ReGen Magazine. Beltsville, Maryland. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
- ^ Yücel, Ilker (July 22, 2022). "Bill Leeb honors bandmate Jeremy Inkel with latest Noise Unit album, revealing first single". ReGen Magazine. Beltsville, Maryland. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
- ^ Van Isacker, Bernard (August 16, 2022). "Industrial act Noise Unit lands brand new single 'Dub it up'". Side-Line. Retrieved August 21, 2022.